If I Were Guardiola

Garay was signed today by Real Madrid. There goes one target. That too for 10M, not a high price.

you really think that valdes should stay? why? seriously.

apparently Guardiola believes wingers are going to play a crucial role in his strategic system next season, which is why he is looking for a top class winger.

Barca tried Ribery but as expected, that failed big time

Now the remaining targets are Van Persie, Theo Walcott and David Silva. Out of all the three, Silva is the likeliest to end up donning the blaugrana shirt.

Plus I'd like him to be there more than van persie or walcott. Either call it my hatred towards anything/anyone doing with the top four or the fact that David Silva has serious potential. Maybe both. Silva is a pretty versatile fellow. He was also tried in the middle, a bit behind Villa and Joaquin this season under Koeman.

What are your thoughts on these three possible signings Nic?

I think Marquez has to go.

We really need a goalkeeper that puts some pressure on Valdes.

If Etoo leaves, I would love if Barca signed Villa.

Zaragoza got relegated and Diego Milito is out there, i rate him high and im sure he would be a good addition to the team.

Milan not playing CL could help Barca land Kaka, but they would have to bid at least 50 million.

Victor is a great goal keeper. Being not good as Iker Casillasis not a good reason to let him go. If i where him i would keep the hole team and rebuild it. Deco has to go thou. I don't like keeping players that wants to go. Other than that we still have the best team in the world just out of shape.But If I have to add on Nic's list it will have to be Henry. People its normal for a player to not fit in right away. Specially in bad times. He will be top scorer if he returns to his original performance and have our cheers on the filed. If Ronnie is to leave there is no one that could really replace him but if we can get Kaka, Well that is all that we need. Our Defensive are all stars they just need to get in shape. I hope Guardiola covers that.

Who would you bring in to replace Deco Nick? I think this is one of the most important positions for us. Deco used to be fundamental in getting the ball from midfield to attack, his vision and passing in his prime was incredible. We have REALLY been missing that lately. We can buy all the strikers and wingers we want, if we cannot get the ball to them we still wont score. I think we need a Diego or a Van Der Vaart, somebody who can come up with the ingenious pass and who can score goals as well. Apparently Guardiola is very keen on either Moutinho or Afellay, neither of which I have really heard anything special about.

Marquez on a good day can be amazing. I think he was a bit unlucky this season with Injuries.

Madrid's garay signing seems like one of those made just so that other teams don't get the player. They dont really need him - but don't want any other club to have him.

I'm not so sure about Pique. I dont like it when players leave and then come back. Which is why I find the rummor of offering Puyol in exchange for Cesc Fabregas offensive.

Dani Alves is an amazing FB. Reminds me of Cafu in his younger years.
Very dangerous player in attack and solid in defense.

Blog,
What do you make of Joao Moutinho's transfer rummor?

He is a decent option in midfield - good passer of the ball.

Same with Inter's Maxwell ?

damn, real madrid's got garay?!

anyhow, i feel that deco's heart is not at barsa anymore. ronaldinho has been pissing me off since ages ago and i'll be real glad to hear a transfer news involving him this summer. of abidal, yep he was pretty brilliant at the beginning but went on a downward spiral post christmas but i think we could still make good use of him.

i think we need to find a zambrotta/deco replacement asap. and someone to cover for yaya toure in case he gets injured too.

arghhh, transfer season jitterbugs.

Hilal, same here bro. I am guessing the reason we havent seen or heard much of those two is because they are very young and still starting out in their careers.

i have been hearing of Moutinho's praise for quite some time. Prolly at the turn of the year when a couple of portugal enthusiasts claimed Moutinho, a bright prospect with an ability to dribble efficiently and release pin point passes, will be the one replacing Deco in the national team. In that case, he could probably replace Deco in Barcelona as well.

I caught a glimpse of Affaley in the return leg of uefa cup featuring PSV and Tottenham. Plays on the wing. Decent skill but didnt really see enough to judge fully. However, I have learned he recieved an award for the best young player in the eridivise recently. Based on those I assume this fellow has potential.

Realistically, they wont be signed I feel.

Cech apo Kameni (Valdes)

Alves (Richards)
Puyol (Pique)
Milito (Garay apo Marquez)
Abidal (Sylvinho)

Xavi (Marc Crosas)
Keita (Toure dhe Marquez)
Fabregas (Thiago Alcántara)

Messi (Gai Assulin)
Henry (Guiza)
Iniesta (Bojan)

Coach: Josep Guardiola
2 coach: Luis Enrique
3 coach: Tito Vilanova

Giovanni on loan - Arsenal or Rome or Tottenham or Fiorentina.


Formations (4-3-3):

-----------------------------Cech apo Kameni------------------------------
-------------------------Puyol-----------Milito-----------------------------
--Alves--------------------------------------------------------Abidal------
-----------------------Y.Toure--------Keita--------------------------------
------------------------------Xavi-----------------------------------------
-----------Messi------------------------------------Iniesta-----------------
----------------------------Henry------------------------------------------

Copa del Rey:

-------------------------------Valdes-----------------------------
-----------------------Pique-----------Garay---------------------
--Richards----------------------------------------------Sylvinho---
----------------------------Marquez------------------------------
----------------Thiago-----------------M.Crosas------------------
--------Gai A.----------------------------------Bojan-------------
-----------------------------Guiza-------------------------------


(4-4-2)

-------------------------------Cech apo Kameni---------------------------
------------------------Puyol--------------Milito--------------------------
---D.Alves---------------------------------------------------Abidal--------
------------------------Xavi----------------Toure(Keita)-------------------
--Messi---------------------------------------------------------Iniesta----
--------------------------Henry------Bojan(Guiza)-------------------------

great article nic. ur 100% correct about everthing. i was a bit surprised how adamant u were about henry, around jan or so i was bashing him and you often came to his rescue. no matter, your so right, id sell him in a heartbeat. but i really disagree abotu guiza. i would hate that signing. i dont think he is even in the same class as us. if etoo does go i would be interested in berbatov greatly. i think his style, skills would fit in great and he also is a big guy which we need to cause aerial issues. benzema is too young and untested and too pricey right now.

however, prob the most important point u said was how guardiola needs to speak to every player and see where they are. i just wanted committed boys.

props to joe henry too for supprting my boy VV who i hope is never replaced. hilal also, van der vaart or diego have LONG been my top choice. id love to see either one and i dont understand why we havent signed one by now. rafeal especially has long said hed love to join us. diego cant really go to madrid!!!!! they just sign everyone its so stupid. garay? dont think have cannavaro, pepe and metzleder already, and heinze can play center? terrible move for him.

i dont see why everyone wants oleguer out so bad. just keep him around, low pay roll, just in case. i quite rated him 3 yrs ago, seemed very commited and did well overall. clubs need players like him that act as servants. getting pique back is smart. he is a tall, strong, young and that is always useful. rather grow him that keep thuram. we might even look at ayala. will be cheap and quick, he could replace milito nicely while out. maybe even carvalho if he leaves chelsea. he's a rock. im happy with alves but does anyone else think he slightly overrated??? i find him very dirty and i wonder if pushing up so much wont leave us exposed at the back. someone mentioned maxwell too??? i havent read that anywhere but would be very very happy. he is a extremely talented guy, works hard too and can be defender or midfielder, that versatiliy would do us wonders.

im so excited to see who we eventually do bring in and out.

lastly, i cannot even believe ppl are talking about walcott in barca!!!!!! that would be embarrassing. he would fail miserably. he isnt that great. fast with some nice talent here and there but no one knows where to play him and he is tiny. would be money wasted. RVP too, injury prone anyone? not good enough.

Oleguer is not the best, But he is like one the oldest people in Barcelona. He never talks about leaving. We just keep him, He really have sprite. I hate to see him leave even thou he is not the best player in the world.

Without going through every name mentioned (some of them I've never even seen) I'll say first I back Valdes because he's a damn good goalkeeper, of the alternatives Cech would be fine but his price is way too high, Kameni not consistant enough. I really don't know if Palop is a possibility but he's the one I'd go for.
I understand the Keita signing is supposed to replace Deco and I see no problem with that, we need a real worker in midfield like Deco was or like Davids when he was here.
I also worry about Alves's temperament but there is no doubting the guy has class plus he usually performs better in the big games.
I totally agree about Berbatov and yes if we can't get Benzema he would be a better option than Güiza. The only problem is that signing from the Premiership is getting more and more pricey all the time.
For a winger I don't like Walcott as he is more suited to the right and we need someone on the left. Van Persie is good when fit but do we need another injury prone player? Of the three mentioned Silva is the best option but as I say in the article I really like Santi Cazorla of Villarreal, I just wonder if anyone has thought to ask a price for him.

Great, opinionated atricle filled with mostly facts. But as you will have worked out by now, I disagree :)

Nic, you cannot ask a player to adapt in his first season after spending 8 years with another club. I dont care how you put it. He was playing in a different position every week with different player, never got the service from Ronaldinho or Deco which he needed and failed for a large part of the season to link up with Messi. Of course Henry is arrogant - all great players are - Ronaldo, Zidane, Marardona - its their temperament on and off the feild. Give me another season with Pep and he will deliver or he can find another club.

Some Barca fans think FC Barcelona is like heaven for footballers?? Benzema isnt going to leave Lyon for the minute. Cesc is happy at Arsenal for the minute. Lets face it why would you want to join Barca at the minute? 3rd in the league, came out of the CL against the first big team, humiliated by their arch rivals. So people have to realise Barca may have to work with what they've got. Iniesta is fine in attacking midfeild for Deco or maybe Diego of Bremen, Messi on the left, Henry in the middle so that leaves one winger who SHOULD NOT be Walcott or Van Persie (and wont be). Silva of Valencia or Joaquin. They are more realistic targets. Ronaldo isnt coming, Kaka isnt coming. We need to buy shrewedly like Ferguson did with Vidic, Wenger did with Sagna - not world stars but solid, excellent players who do a job.

Alves is a perfect signing to defend with and give long balls to Henry and Eto to use their pace. HOWEVER, if Alves runs up feild and Messi drifts in with his dribbles we could get slaughtered on the counter-attack to I think we definately need to watch we dont go too attacking.

Valdes - nice guy but not world-class. He is not Im sorry. Cech, Buffon, Casillas, Van Der Sar. These are. Name me 10 saves this season that Valdes has made that you think WOW what a save. Now think of 10 Casillas has made. You see the difference. Akinveev the russian dude is a brilliant prospect is would be available.

We need a no-nonsense defender in the mould of Vidic, Terry. Maybe Raul Abiol of Valancia as quted by some papers in england? Abidal is not world-class. He was decent for half the season but Madrid gave him nightmares and he gets exposed by skill too easily. Keep him though if we cant find better.

My 4-3-3 for 2008/09 would be:

--------Akinveev (Valdes)-----------

Alves---Puyol---Albiol----Abidal---
-----------------Toure----------------
--------------Xavi----------------------
----------------Diego(Iniesta)----------
---Messi------------------Silva--
------------Henry (or Eto)---------

Total Spend: £20m for Alves + £15m for Diego + £10m for Akinveev + £20m for Silva = £55m - £30m for R10, Deco, others = only £25m spend. Great value and much lowered squad-age and wage bill. And their all realistic!! :)

titi, agree with lots u say. VV thought, its a circular argument. no one will say world class but is a damn good goolkeeper and depending on how long u know this club, he was like a present sent from God himself after the clowns we had in goals for nearly a decade. plus u named the only world class GK out there. casillas impossible, buffon never, and cech, i wouldnt want him. id rather stick to home grown talent just import anyone. VDS isnt worldclass in my view, and it super old. so what he have is the next best thing, a good keeper. he had a poor yr but prev he was zamora for like 4 seasons. ive seen him save the team many times and i often remember myself saying "thank god we have valdes". he is reliable.

henry, i will disagree totally. i know adapting is hard. but cannot say he did it in the right way. COMPLAIN COMPLAIN COMPLAIN. thats all he did. too much mouth not enough effort and running. of course u can expect him to struggle but u expect him to try and come right. that was completely non existsnt. sell him to the MLS. but if he stays i hope he can pick himself off the ground.

otherwise spot on. i think silva should be pursued immediately. getting him for a good price, good talent, versatile positions. otherwise madrid will prob just try and buy him just so we dont.

Hey Titi, of course it is opinionated, that's why it's tagged under Fcbnews opinion. ;-)

How can we loan Giovani out next season? The realities of his current contract do not permit it. He has one more year left on his contract. If we loan him out next season without an extension, he is free to move on a Bosman and we get no money. We could give him an extension and then loan him out, but I do not think that is what most people posting on this blog are suggesting. The choice is either sell him or give him an extension. We do not want to risk pushing back contract negotiations until late; he will probably leave like Flamini in that case.

Gio already said that if he is loaned he wont return to Barca, as I said before, they should sell this guy, only 19 y.o. but already has a big mouth, acts like if he was some sort of football god just cuz he scored a hat-trick, etc, terrible attitude.

Victor Valdes aint world class, but he would do better if someone could actually compete for the gk spot, things is, with the likes of Jorquera or Pinto in there that aint gonna happen, so he knows that no matter what, he will play.

Barca needs to get at least 2 CBs, Milito wont be playing till 2009, Marquez is injury prone and i dont like the idea of playing Abidal as CB (or even worse, OLEGUER!!)

Oleguer is just terrible, cant understand why people dont want him out, way better to have Fali as backup.

They need someone in the midfield, just in case we lose one of the 3 starters, Thiago and Crosas could be subs.

Im pretty sure Etoo will stay, doubt Barca sells him for 30 million, specially when they would have to pay 50+ million for a 19 y.o. french kid that aint as good as the cameroonian (or maybe he is, but we just dont know, Ligue Orange is way different to Liga).

For replacement strikers, Benzema is a distant third behind Villa and Huntelaar, and definitely not for 50 mil. That's just dumb business.

Ooops, I just read that, Manchester United are in the hunt for Alves....

yeah morzzan, they want him and luis fabiano

I totally agree with Titti, Valdes is too mistake prone, someone needs to be there to pressurize him, he knows he's barca's best, he needs to focus now!

As a replacement for Deco I would love to see Van Der Vaart come in. His contract with HSV is up, and he has everyhing to become a world class player over the next few years. Moutinho and Diego would also be great replacements, but I feel they lack in physical presence and I think it would take a boat load of cash to get them.

If Marquez leaves, maybe Kompany would be an option to replace him? He is a model professional, has a lot of technical ability and has an approach to the game that should fit in with the general Barca philosophy. Plus he can cover for both CB and DM. Downsides are that he may be injury prone (not sure though, as best as I can tell the injuries he suffered from have been unrelated to each other and have had more to do with bad luck and overextension at an early age) and he might not be ready for the big stage just yet. I also don't know if he would be willing to leave HSV at this point. Last summer (after being injured for most of the season) he turned down a few offers from big clubs because he felt he hadn't done enough to repay the faith the club had shown him. Plus, he himself might feel he hasn't matured enough yet to make the transition to a club with the ambitions and reputation of Barca (When leaving Anderlecht he turned down a few bigger clubs for HSV to ensure that he would get playing time and a chance to grow as a player).

Oh wait, I was wrong, VDV's contract runs until 2010, he just won't sign an extension. Still, a great player that I would prefer over Diego and Moutinho. He won't come on the cheap though.

––––––––– Cech ––––––––––
––––––––-Puyol–––—Chivu–––––––––—
Alves––––––––––––––––––Abidal apo Lahm
Kaka ––– Diego ––– Iniesta
Messi–––––– Eto'o
–Henry–

Chivu to cover for Milito and Diego/Xavi in middle

have to say all the talk of a suitable replacement for deco seems like too much cause for concern - i mean we have xavi and iniesta who both have excellent technical ability as well as great defensive and attacking awareness and toure can do a stern job in the defensive midfield role...the bottom line is we need world class full backs and if henry, eto'o and ronaldinho go then i'm absolutely sure barca will find something special to cover their loss - for personal reasons i wouldn't mind seeing aiden mcgeady working his magic for barca!

@ Nic - I know thats why I love this blog :)

I think Barcas problems are as I said in defence and creative-ness in midfeild. The strikers are starved without Deco service and Ronaldinhos imagination and the defence is abismal.

At least one new full-back preferably on the right so Alves is fine there. At LEAST two CB's. Milito is out untill 2009 and Thurham is old and Marques isnt solid enough for me. Someone to partner Puyol. Pique is good but only for back up not first choice.

So our back line: ----Alves-----Puyol-----CB +(Pique)---Abidal---

How about Micah Richards? He has been receiving rave reviews for the defender he is, why isn't anyone mentioning him? I think Ferguson wants him too very bad. 19 years old, youngest Brit (then) to be called to national team. Any comments??
Another defender I can think of who will come cheap and also, happily sign for Barca is Caceres from Recreativo. I think he would be a really good option, considering he has played in Spain, has La Liga experience and also young, 21 years old. Anyone??

And Madrid sent Garay back on loan to Racing because they got back Metzelder and they already have Cannavaro and Heinze and Pepe for CB position. Next season, I am sure Cannavaro and Metzelder will retire, so Garay signing was a very smart move indeed.

And, to be honest, Im sure Barca will get Diego if Madrid don't get him first too, but otherwise, if Barca don't get him, then Van Der Vaart should be bought at any cost. This because Dutch players always blend well in La Liga and we all know how good he will be. Look at Sneijder, nowhere as famous as Van Der Vaart, and look at how well he has been doing in his first season here. Vaart is more famous, better rated, who could be better? Barcelona always, always had amazing dutch players, I feel this must be a date to take with history.


Bring the suggestions in.....
Morzzan

barca wont get richards. english players just dont come to spain. has happened like twice recently and only becks did pretty well. richards will go to chelsea or united when he is ready to leave. kompany is such an interesting suggestion. i was actually thinking about him before. havent seen much of him only the rumors.

but when it comes to a CB what barca really have to think is do that want a great starter or is milito their long term choice?? or do they want to start grooming someone for puyol? but i think he has another 2 yrs at minimum in him. said it before i think barca should greatly consider roberto ayala from zaragoza. he is pretty old but he hasnt showed it too much and he has great la liga experience. he could do well for the months milito is out. pique is then there to step in otherwise. honestly i dont know who else to bring in. like i said it depends on their intentions. u cant spend big cash on some youngster and then have him ride the bench or have milito bench when fit. someone will be upset. thats the issue if we would or could bring in carvalho who seems he wants to leave. he is a topnotch center back and frankly better than milito, but depends on who we want in the long term.

man Keita is a sick player.

He will give us such an advantage in the attack. He runs like there is no tomorrow and his shots are ridiculous rockets.

LINK

Thats just one of many.

I think Barca must sell or do not continue the contracts with: Ronaldinho, Deco, Edmilson, Thuram, Ezquerro, Pinto, Gudjohnsen and Jorquera.
In my opinion van der Vaart will play amazing football in Barcelona. Also barca has to buy normal goalkeeper. I agree to buy a good defender (like Alves) and midfielder (like Keita) and also forward (why not Benzema).
But again for barca van der Vaart will be excellent choice!

Apparently Alonso is another candidate to replace Deco.

Also Malouda is added to the list of Guardiola's hunt for a top class winger and replacement for Ronaldinho

milito is better than carvalho